"A DIRTY SPORT."

Taihape Daily Times, 20 September 1919, Page 3

"A DIRTY SPORT. "

HORSE RACING CONDEMNED. THE COUNCIL OF CHURCHES. CRUSADE AGAINST BETTING. CHRISCHURCH, Sept. 17. The much—debated question of gambling was discussed at a meeting of the Council of Churches yesterday. The Rev. J. J. North said he thought the Council should enter 2. protest gfigaixis-t the manner in which the gambling laws were being regarded in New Zealand. Referring to the recent visit of: Admiral Jellicoe to Christcliui-ch, and the action of the Mayor and others in al'rzlngiug' an extra. race meeting, he sald the statu-te allowed the racing, trotting, and hunt clubs 283 Elays for racing, and although xfo club would forfeit a meeting, arrangenlents were made at Wellington to hold a meeting for which the Statute gave no scope. The Minister for Internal Affairs, the Hon. G, W. Russell, By his action, had. done Something which caused a lot of alarm to a large section Eff the public. The law had been floufecl. .

The speaker understood that a Judge of the Suprenie Court had been present at the meeting. The inference was that the gambling laws were quiie :1. secon-dary matt.el'. A plea was now being made for greater facilities for gambling. In 1918, the Act. allowed 250 days for racing, but shortly after the conclusion of the war 33 days had been added, making a. total now of 283 days. The sum of £5,000,000 was being put through the totalisater every year. .

“Horse racing,” said Mr North, “is a. dirty sport.” Sir George Clifi’ord, president of the Racing Conference, recently said he had come to believe that many of the stories of dirty tactics in connection \vi.~tll racing were trile, and he appealed for laws to be passed to minimise thzse practices, but the racing clubs “turned him down.”

Mr North sai‘d he also noticed :1 plea. being put forward for telegraphic betting. This hzl_db‘een. prohibite-d., end now it was wanted baek_ Another proposal provided for a double totalisator. He felt that the Council should agitate very strongly against the enlargemtent of gambling facilities. Ht; moved. “That. we communicate with kindred societies in other centres, urging (1) the organisation of stern resistance to any attempt to enlarge gambling facilities by increasing the number of I;otalisato-1- permits; (2) hostility to telegraphic betting on the totalisator, and also double betting, as ‘retrograde proposals, that would greatly increase the amount. of totalisator gambling; (3) support to everyfmnovement for ‘the elimina’tion ‘of the bookm-aker."’ Mr R. D. Martin said the motion did not go far enough, and that the totalisator was sucking the life blood of the country. Referring to the I'eoellt trotting meeting in honour of Aclmiral Jellieoe, he said that according to reports, it was not only a Juflge of the Supreme Court who was present, but also :1 prominent None»oni’ornlist Cliurelnnan, and an ex—Z\l'ayor of the city, whose action he condemnerl. The motion was carried